Inclusion of Part-Time Faculty for the Benefit of Faculty and Students

Abstract

The new majority of faculty in today's colleges and universities are part-time, yet sizable gaps exist in the research on their needs, interests, and experiences. Further, the peer-reviewed scholarship is largely quantitative. Principally, it focuses on the utility of the adjunct work force, comparisons between part-time and full-time faculty, and personal, institutional, or systemic stressors related to institutional reliance on a part-time workforce. The purpose of this study is to ascertain, through qualitative inquiry, the experiences of part-time faculty at a midsized, comprehensive public university. Data from 85 participants were coded, analyzed, and integrated into three core themes. The first, receiving outreach, speaks to inconsistent outreach, messaging, and communication from and across the institution. Mentoring was identified as a prevailing sub-theme and a plausible method of mitigating extant disconnects. The second core theme, navigating challenges, classified the teaching quandaries revealed by this cadre: student engagement and learning, quality of work-life interaction, and community disconnect. The third theme, developing skills, reflected part-time faculty members' needs and interests related to cultivating additional knowledge required for advancing university teaching. While responses are localized, their meanings may be transferred to other campuses through the incremental adoption of programs, services, and advocacy efforts.

Understanding and Responding to the Unique Needs and Challenges Facing Adjunct Faculty: A Longitudinal Study

“…First, as reported in the literature (e.g., Forbes, Hickey, & White, 2010;Kezar, 2012;Meixner & Kruck, 2010) and discussed above, adjunct faculty are different from full-time faculty and have unique needs and challenges. Institutions should respond with tailored professional development opportunities, targeted resources, and a range of formal and informal supports.…”

“…Other researchers have noted the relationship between these experiences of isolation and the job satisfaction and turnover rates among part-time faculty (e.g., Hoyt, 2012;Meixner & Kruck, 2010). It seems clear that these realities have important implications, including concerns about workplace fairness and equity and threats to the instructional mission of post-secondary institutions-after all "faculty working conditions are student learning conditions" (New Faculty Majority, 2015).…”

Conditions for Contingent Instructors Engaged in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

“…However, the majority of contingent instructors surveyed in Ontario indicate a need for greater support from teaching and learning centres (Field & Jones, 2016). Teaching and learning centres include programming described as open to all instructors; however, poor communication of these supports, lack of remuneration for participation, conflict with other priorities, and scheduling challenges limit contingent instructors' access (Anderson, 2007;Bryson, 2013;Dailey-Hebert et al, 2014;Meixner, Kruck, & Madden, 2010).…”

An Exploration of Contingent Faculty Experiences at a Private, Liberal Arts College

“…Current literature and research has yet to truly explore what contingent faculty are experiencing (Meixner et al, 2010). In order to equip institutions with the necessary understanding of contingent faculty, and practices and policies that provide institutional support systems for their contingent faculty, more qualitative studies that explore the experiences of an individual institution's contingent faculty, are needed.…”